war

Wars are horrendous, all they result in is death and devastation. But although this fact is admitted and recognised by most people, wars have been a prevailing feature on our planet for thousands of years, reaching unimaginable heights of horror under capitalism.

Those in power never seem to learn from the enormous consequences of war, because profits can be made. The cost in human terms can never be underestimated but we also need to look at the enormous cost in environmental terms.

For us, as humans, to live, function and prosper on our planet, we need a healthy environment and ecosystems that work as nature intended. Enhancing and enriching our lives. However, the impact of wars on our environment can have far reaching effects that may not be seen for many years after a war ends.

The most recent example of how a war impacts our environment is the war in Ukraine so let's have a brief look at how that country's environment has been affected. This war is just one year old and the damage that has already been done to the environment and ecosystems there is very worrying. There has been a two-pronged impact, first the flora and fauna there have been directly affected, while there are indirect effects in terms of pollution of air water and land.

Before the war, Ukraine had been facing serious problems environmentally. Like most other countries the issues of climate change and protecting biodiversity needed to be tackled.

Due to the war, many conservation projects that had been put in place had to be deferred. Some staff working in parks and on these projects enlisted and those that remain are impeded in carrying out their duties due to military action, electricity blackouts and a lack of food. Some protected areas have been used to provide shelter and refuge for many that have been internally displaced. Due to the lack of staff overseeing these protected areas, there has been an increase in poaching of endangered species such as sturgeon, as well as illegal logging of the ancient beech forests. There had been a programme in place supporting natural forest management but that is now practically uncontrollable. Almost one third of the protected areas have been affected, it is feared that many plant species that are native to Ukraine may be lost forever.

Russia's attacks on Ukraine's power plants have had several serious effects, the obvious one is people being left without heating, lighting or water. Another effect are the toxic fumes created by the fires, which are caused by the missile strikes. These fumes, not only cause air pollution, but as they fall they poison the soil, and also can seep into water supplies and cause major pollution to water sources and the ecosystems that live there. Water sources are also being contaminated due to damage caused to wastewater treatment plants, with several damaged facilities spewing raw waste into the environment.

Add into the mix the issues around the safety of the Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants and the potential for a major environmental disaster that would spread far wider than Ukraine itself. This is a huge worry and another reason that escalation is sheer madness and we need to resist calls to line up with NATO warmongers.

So when we see the damage that one year of war has done in Ukraine - try and imagine the damage that has been done in other areas where conflict has happened and in some cases, is still ongoing. Picture the devastation in countries like Libya, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan -to mention just a few. With no proper leadership and constant fighting - fueled by Western powers, there is little chance of beginning or restarting any conservation programmes and even if they could, what is lost is lost forever.

There is also a big financial cost to war - those tanks and missiles that cause such havoc and destruction come at an enormous cost. At the moment NATO and some other western countries are supplying (selling) these weapons that cause so much damage to our environment. The irony of seeing these same countries meeting to discuss ways to protect our planet and halt climate change cannot be lost on us. While ordinary people are being told to stop using cars as often and to separate our waste, every day bombs are being dropped and missiles are being fired in many parts of our world. The obvious answer is peace, but while money is to be made, wars will continue. The capitalist system only wants profit, no matter what the cost.

In cases of war there are no winners. When wars end, buildings and other infrastructure can be rebuilt but the losses in terms of human life and our environment can never be replaced.

Only Socialism offers a way out of this destructive cycle of death and devastation.